Influencers are Not Given Clarity on Brands’ Goals, According to Research

ZINE surveyed 1,000 influencers and more than 1,300 consumers, to discover how influencers work with brands, and how consumers perceive posts that are sponsored by brands.

Key finding of the report are:

Influencer follower numbers are a brand’s first concern, but consumers are more interested in trust, connection and specialist knowledge.

• 41% of influencers report that brands ask them for follower numbers before deciding whether to work with them. Only 29% of influencers are asked about their audience demographics. Just 11% of influencers who are paid to post a blog for a brand are asked for their analytics to prove the value of the post.
• 25% of consumers are likely or very likely to buy a product when someone with more than one million followers recommends it. Half of consumers are likely or very likely to buy on the recommendation of someone who specialises in that area.

Only a quarter of brands share campaign goals with influencers.

Of those brands that did want data:

•16% wanted the campaign to drive impressions.
•16% wanted the campaign to drive sales.
•13% of brands wanted an increase in social media followers.
•11% said brands wanted click-through figures.
•8% wanted to see social sharing stats for the campaign.

Most influencers expect compensation for their work and are selective about brand partnerships.

Brands should expect to pay influencers; rewarding them with ‘exposure’ is not enough. But influencers are driven by working with the right brand to fit their values, over money.

• 83% of influencers need some form of reward for their work with a brand (including free event attendance), whether that is in the form of product or financial payment.
• 17% of influencers would promote a brand in return for exposure (and these are more likely to those who are still focused on growing their follower numbers).
• 73% of influencers put more effort in when they’re passionate about the brand or product. Almost half (47%) of influencers would reject a collaboration if the brand does not resonate with their personal brand and/or audience.